RAM CHANDRA, PROFESSOR, born into a Kayastha family in 1821 at Panipat. Professor Ram Chandra became a distinguished teacher of mathematics. He joined the English school at Delhi in 1833 and earned a merit scholarship. At the age of 11, he was lured into marrying a girl who was completely

SIKHS` RELATIONS WITH HILL STATES lying between the Ganga and the Chenab rivers from the time of the Gurus to the reign of Maharaja Ranjit Singh fluctuated from guarded friendship to open hostility. Guru Nanak (1469-1539) and later his son, Baba Sri Chand, had preached the Sikh tenets in the

ANAND (Skt. Anand, from nand meaning "to rejoice" or "to delight") denotes mystical experience, spiritual bliss or a state of consciousness such as that ofaJi`van mukta, i.e. one released while still in body. Anand in the Upanisadic texts istaken to be one of the three inherent attributes of atman

DE LA ROCHE, HENRI FRANCOIS STANISLAUS (d. 1842), a Frenchman born in Mauritius, served in the army of Begam Samru. As the force was disbanded by the British after the Begam`s death, he came to Lahore in 1838 and

JAGATJIT SINGH, MAHARAJA (1872-1949), son of Raja Kharak Singh, was born on 23 November 1872 and ascended the throne of Kapurthala state on 16 October 1877. He assumed full ruling powers in November 1890 and then commenced his unusual career as a world traveller and a Francophile. He received

MUKTI or Mukti and its synonym mokh (Sanskrit moksa, Pali mo(k)khd)are derived from the root much (to let go, release) and seem to be identical in primary meaning with the English words deliverance, liberation, release, freedom and emancipation. Although sometimes translated as `salvation`, mukti is different from the Christian salvation.

RAM SINGH, BHAI, a descendant of Bhai Bhagatu, was a devout Sikh. He served Guru Gobind Singh (1666-1708) with devotion when the latter visited his village Chakk Bhai in Bathinda district of the Punjab during his travels through these parts in 1706. He again presented himself at Damdama Sahib,

SRI FATEH SINGH PRATAP PRABHAKAR, an undated manuscript preserved in the Punjab State Archives, Patiala, under accession No. M/ 774, is an account of the life and achievements ol`Sardar Fateh Singh Ahluvalia (1784-1836). The manuscript since published, by Joginder Kaur (1981), comprises 401 folios, size 23x17 cm, each containing 16

ANANDPUR DI VAR is a versified account in Punjabi, by one Ram Singh, of a battle fought in 1812 between Sodhi Surjan Singh of Anandpur and Raja Maha Chand of Kahlur. Sodhi Surjan Singh was a lineal descendant of Suraj Mall, a son of Guru Hargobind. His father, Nahar Singh,

DEATH, the primordial mystery and one of the cardinal conditions of existence. Scientifically, death is defined as "the permanent cessation of the vital function in the bodies of animals and plants" or, simply, as the end of life caused by senescence or by stoppage of the means of sustenance to

JAITO MORCHA, the name given to the Akali agitation for the restoration to his throne of Maharaja Ripudaman Singh of Nabha, a Sikh princely state in the Punjab. The Maharaja had strong pro-Akali sympathies and had overtly supported the Guru ka Bagh Morcha and donned a black turban as a

NAHAN (30° 33`N, 77° 17`E), situated on top of a ridge in the upper reaches of Markanda River, in Sirmur district of Himachal Pradesh, and formerly the capital of the princely state of Sirmur, has a historical gurdwara dedicated to Guru Gobind Singh.Guru Gobind Singh visited Nahan in 1685 on